Alpha's revenge

Chapter 1: Ice Cream

The garden was in full bloom this spring season. The roses, tulips and lilies were lending extra colours to the flurry of activity in the garden, as there were plenty of butlers running around to arrange everything. Anything and everything that could be needed for the party the next day, being held on behalf of the young master of Cotswold County.

He was going to turn four tomorrow, and would be a big boy after that- although according to him, he already was a very big boy! So he would be simply establishing his status on the official date, and no one could deny or argue with him at this point.

Because no matter how tiny, sweet and cheerful the young master was, his mother was not the owner of the same personality at all!

Arene Altham.

The name was enough to draw shivers down everyone's spine; the girl with five feet and ten inches height and flowing blonde hair, along with sea green eyes was indeed mesmerising.

But as beautiful as her outer appearance was, the rumours were rampant about her soul being possessed by just as much darkness!

For once, the devil might have a good day and on account of that, decide to show mercy on someone...but she? She wouldn't!

The rumours that were prevalent in the entire Cotswolds started with the gossip of how she didn't live with her family, and nobody knew for sure which family she actually belonged to. Though going by the same gossip, she surely belonged to a very rich and esteemed family that she had been disowned from, because of the heinous crimes she had committed. The list of said crimes started from killing her husband with her own hands, to having murdered his entire family in cold blood because of some kind of rage. But the snippets of reality behind the rumours were nowhere to be found and no testimonies were available, either.

No one knew whom she had married and where this husband of hers actually was, if she was divorced, or whether perhaps her husband had actually died at her own hands. But the longest standing news that had attained the status of a legend among the locals, was that she was one who had operated on her own husband after reaching Cotswold. Even though the County solely belonged to her, four years ago, there had been no fully functional hospitals and this was where she had arrived with her wounded husband and a day-old boy.

Many considered it impossible that the death of her husband had been an accident, as she didn't have so much as a spot of blood on her entire career record apart from this one instance; while some said that she might not have fully recovered at the time of performing the surgery as she also had a small baby in her hands. But nobody knew the undisputed truth, and all they used to feed their curiosity on was either pure gossip or white and grey lies.

However, the speciality associated with the rumours is that they might spread like a forest fire, but they always halt before reaching the person concerned with the rumours as no one wants their neck to be beheaded!

Thus, nobody had ever dared to speak anything in front of Arene or let her get any hints about it, and nor had she ever considered clarifying anything. There were only three people in the entire world who knew the truth, and she didn't trust anyone; anyone apart from them, enough to confide in them.

And hence, she had become the girl she never had been but the rumours had portrayed her as, and was living exactly upto the expectations of everyone by not even showing her smile in public. All that she had shown in front of the people was either anger or authority- nothing else was important for anyone to know from her!

Satisfied with the preparations, she got up from the chair she had been sitting on, to make her way to the main house.

As a reflection of her inner turmoil, thoughts were running wild in her brain.

"Sometimes, life makes us stand at the line where we are forced to think what will we do, if the person whom we love most in this entire world dies? And in front of us, with the worst in our hands?

Then I remind myself that sometimes, life makes us experience this situation first-hand...sometimes, second, and sometimes, nobody knows for how long those stories and experiences have been travelling...how many miles they have run, how many years they have counted.

I also have a story- a story of losing my wish, my will and my reason to live, the story of losing my love, and my life forever after.

Today, on March 12, four years ago- I lost the only reason for which I had been living. I am not living now, because I'm pretty sure that dragging your body and taking in breaths just to function can't be classified as living.

But I can't die as well, because the day I lost him was the day I found the most precious responsibility of my life- my son.

Arin! The reason for my survival, the child whom I had found just after exiting the operation theatre, after being completely responsible for the death of my soul, and him.

Yes, I am the culprit and yet the victim of this twisted situation, because I am Arene Altham! The famous surgeon of the city, who is known to have an entirely impeccable career, with only one death in the whole history of her career- the one death!"

She wanted to laugh! Laugh at her helplessness, when she heard a faint cry in the corridor.

Her heart started racing as if it could leave her body behind, and leap to him.

'My boy, my Arin...why is he crying?'

She rushed towards the lobby, and saw the flurry of butlers and maids circling him, and offering him whatever he could find interesting.

'But how can they forget that even though I haven't given birth to him, he is my child.'

This was when she realised that actually they were yet unaware of the reality, apart from uncle Shefford, her and...nevermind. The truth was that she had brought him up and because of this he was her son and her son only, so he definitely had to be as stubborn as her! But there was one thing, thankfully; that he was not as cold as her- or say, the new Arene.

She rushed downstairs after breaking her thought bubble herself and asked, bending and placing her hands on her knees.

"Arin, child, come here! Come to mumma, and tell me, what happened?"

Before she could have formed the whole scenario and linked the conclusions in her thoughts, she heard someone speaking, someone whose voice was a whole lot like hers, and beckoning to the crying child.

"Mum-mumma... mumma!"

With this cry, her attention was drawn towards her son coming towards her, and her heart melted at the sight of her poor kid racing towards her with his small legs wobbling due to the rush of emotion.

She bent down and picked him up and wiping the fat tears from his pink cheeks, she asked, "What happened to my brave and bold boy Arin? Why is he crying?"

"Mumma, I want a Dad!"

He dropped the bomb on her once again; it was the third day in a row that her poor kid had asked her for something that she couldn't give to him.

'What the hell is wrong with this society, that they have to teach children that a kid needs to have both parents in their life for the sake of normalcy?

And what was wrong with me that I accepted the proposal of sending my Arin to pre-school?!

That's it, it has only been three days and he has already internalised the structure of society! He won't be going back to the place where my child has to suffer the unintentional bullying of other innocent kids, who are just acting according to societal norms.

No! My child will not be following those rules that make him feel excluded. I will be arranging homeschool for him from tomorrow...but for now, I have to calm him down.'

She looked at Arin, who was trying to place his little head on her shoulder with the thumb of his left hand in his mouth, holding her back with the small palm of his right hand.

'Sometimes, I have a sudden realisation and get panicked at how I have raised this little creature to a big yet extremely small boy...how tiny and fragile his body is!'

"Arin, baby, who is mumma's favourite boy?" She asked the question I knew he always had the enthusiasm to answer.

But he kept silent, and her heart just missed a beat.

'Is he alright...?'

She quickly jerked his head backwards carefully, and held him in her outstretched arms. Spinning him around to check if he was fine or not, she shouted for the maids and butlers to bring water and milk- whatever they could, in a hurry.

Almost ten of them ran in different directions to get the required things, only leaving two maids and uncle Shefford there.

It took a few minutes to confirm that Arin didn't have a fever, but his eyes were swollen because of crying.

All this drill did was leave Arene susceptible to the criticising voice inside her head once again, making her pick apart every single act of hers that might have upset her child in such a manner and she lost herself in the thoughts.

'It was true that he has definitely never cried this much before, and I also left him today, for some time. Evidently, I can never be a good mother.'

Looking at uncle Shefford, she asked in a shaking and low voice, as he had been there with her after her mother had passed away. He and the maid, Maria had almost raised her up; if she left out certain people she didn't wish to mention..

"Uncle, what if something has happened-"

"Shh! Arene! Nothing will happen to him, he is just tired of crying, and a little drowsy. Just take him with you and feed him."

"Okay uncle. Maria, send the maids to my room."

Saying this, she gathered Arin in her embrace, holding him tightly to her chest as if somebody was ready to snatch him away.

She started to climb the stairs to her room, and as soon as she sat down on the bed and placed him on her lap, she heard the faint voice of her son again.

"I. I am mumma's favoulite boy."

The sound made her realise that her heart had started beating again.

Looking at him, she spoke with a miffed tone, "When you had heard the question, why didn't you reply earlier? Do you have any idea how badly you have scared your mumma?"

"Solly mumma, but I leally want a Dad! Can't you buy me one?"

No matter how tense or mad she might get, her son's cute mistake of interchanging 'R' and 'L' had always been able to make her happy. But today, this happiness came with a price tag named 'Dad'.

She asked him, without thinking about anything, "Arin...why do you want a dad? Don't you love mumma? Doesn't mumma love you back? Do you want a Dad because you think mumma loves you less?"

"No! My mumma loves me the most, I am hel favoulite boy. And this is why I want a dad, because my mumma only loves me, she doesn't love mumma. And if I have a dad, then he will love mumma."

'He will love mumma- these are the words of a four year old child, my child! How and why has he gotten this idea, and all this time, he wanted a dad because of me? And not because all his friends have one?'

Completely blindsided by this unexpected reason for his demand, the thoughts fully immersed in emotions started clouding her mind, and before she lost her track again she asked.

"Arin, baby you know what? Mumma doesn't want a Dad, all mumma wants is that Arin loves her the most! Okay?"

"Alin loves mumma the most...yes! Alin loves mumma, but Alin is a small boy. How can Alin protect his mumma?"

Arin became too happy for a moment, and the very next moment, he was lost in his deep thoughts like a philosopher straight out of ancient Greece.

"Hmm...let me think. By coming with mumma to buy an ice cream? What do you say?"

Arene heard her voice echoing back in her ears without her consent, for the second time that day.

"Yes! Yes!"

He started throwing his hands upwards, still crouching in her lap.

She stood up, holding him and taking the keys of the car. Before leaving, she made sure to let the maids know that there will be no need for preparing dinner for either of them, as she was going to spend her entire time with her son.

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Finally, he crouched and hid himself behind the bushes; he would definitely find out the truth today and he was determined to not rest until he did.

Rain Alance was the Alpha of the Orion pack, and being a five hundred twenty seven year young Alpha, all he had wanted was to enjoy life without any responsibilities or burden, or even any tension if things went as per his wish.

He had been blessed enough to have his Dad and older brother stay by his side for five hundred and twenty four years, but a sudden snap in the path of destiny had deprived him of the presence of both of them, along with his sister-in-law. He had never been as sad in his entire life, not even when had hit his lowest point in life, as he had been when he heard about the accident. It had not just robbed him of all the joys of his life and brutally taken away his entire family and the people he loved, but also burdened him with plenty of responsibility for the entire pack, as the ruling Alpha.

He had lost his mother at an age where he couldn't even remember her anymore, but he had never complained about it as he always had them by his side...his family!

And now, everyone was gone forever in just the blink of an eye, and he was left devastated by this sudden attack of cruel destiny.

But right after reaching the scene of the accident, he had become sure of one thing: no matter how hard they had tried to portray it as an accident, it was definitely not one.

But he had kept quiet at the moment and mourned for their loss, knowing that whoever had the links and means to have reached the ruling Alpha and his family would definitely be standing nearby; because no matter how modern he claimed to be, he had kept the law of betrayal close to his heart- that it is always possible by the person you trust the most. It is not possible to ever get betrayed by an unknown person, as they don't know you in the first place, nor did you ever trust them; so how would they even intrude into your closest circumference?

He continued to act like the carefree boy he used to be, to get everyone present there to believe him and offer him their sympathy, in order to reach the real culprit by showing his vulnerable side.

But only he knew the reality: the accident had made him mature in the span of a few seconds, whereas five centuries and a few years had fallen short for the same purpose.

He started being cautious in his sleep as well, as he didn't want to take any chances- he couldn't! Or else, he would never be able to find the culprit.

Until today! Today, he had finally managed to find him: the real culprit of the accident, the reason behind it and the criminal responsible for it. Although he had had his doubts about him from the very beginning, he was bound to stop himself from publicly announcing anything due to not having any sort of proof in his hands.

Moreover, getting information about a different pack was well nigh impossible- until and unless one had disguised themselves well enough that not even the grim reaper could identify who they actually were. If not, the spy infiltrating the pack was found, and the traitor was sentenced to be killed at the earliest!

But for that, he had to wait; wait patiently, and he was doing that. He had been doing exactly that for the last three years; the mighty Alpha who was famous for having no calm and the stubbornness of a five year old residing inside a frame of six feet had suddenly grown a fully developed tree of patience. When it came to the games of power and life in the mystical world of theirs, he dare not risk anything that would lead him to danger, and his pack right along with him.

But today, when he had finally been so close to catching the culprit, he couldn't hold on to his patience anymore and had started chasing after the carriage. It was rare that the person was using a horse-drawn carriage during the time of new moon, knowing that their wolf powers would be low and after some time, they wouldn't be able to stand in front of any animals as the eclipse was also scheduled to happen.

His instincts had kicked in at that moment, telling him there must be something mysterious happening, and to find that out, he needed to chase them anyhow. That is how he had ended up in the position he was in now- hidden from view while crouching in the bushes, all his focus on the events unfolding in front of him, and being extremely grateful that he had indeed followed his instinct.

And now, it was just a matter of a few more seconds for the identity of the spy to become revealed to him; and another thought arrived in his mind, alerting him to a new possibility.

'Maybe the person will be making the deals for the next plan without even opening his mouth, knowing that even one's voice will be enough to give him away!?'

Just as he was considering moving to a different spot that would afford him less obscurity but more visibility, as if on cue, the person turned suddenly and his face became visible to him.

The face that had just become illuminated by the torches lit in the dark made him gasp without any prior notice, and that was the only mistake he made before getting caught.

It didn't take even a second for him to sense the blunder he had created. Just when he decided to run, two warrior betas held him by both arms while holding silver spears in their other hands: the pointed head of the weapon was indeed fashioned out of pure silver, but the handle was wooden.

Rain started struggling for his life, but it was no use either; he was still trying regardless, but froze when he heard the voice of the Alpha of his rival Moon pack.

"Ohho! It seems like we have an uninvited guest here; hello, Alpha Rain Alance! I hope you are well and definitely having a very hard time spending your miserable life burdened with responsibilities! Then why don't you just die in peace and go and visit your family up there, in hell or heaven, whatever their choice of residence is?"

Saying this, he dragged him towards himself and plunged a dagger into his stomach, the sound of his guffaws drowning out the groans as well as cheers surrounding the spectacle.

"Happy death, Rain-"

But his statement was abruptly halted as Rain somehow managed to wrestle the dagger from his hand right when the rival alpha had expected that he would be drained of his strength.

Manoeuvring himself into a standing position somehow, he roared, "Step away from me, everyone! Twenty feet- now, or I will kill you all!"

'I noticed everyone stepping backwards as soon as I had issued my warning, and I knew that I was left with only one option now - to run.'

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Rain knew that although he had escaped the imminent danger by running away in his wolf form, it was going to be a long struggle before he reached somewhere safer, and this was the exact nature of the discussion going on inside his mind.

He knew he was badly injured, and he had to transform into his human shape.

'I can't enter the civilisation in this form and in my injured state, but if they are thinking that I will not be coming back and they have succeeded in whatever they were planning to do, I really have extremely bad news for them.'

Thinking this, he shifted into his human form; and the moment he did this, he was aware that it had not been the best of ideas. But he had already made many bad decisions today, so adding one more to the list would not hurt him anymore.

He placed one hand on the wound on the left side of his stomach, which had started painting his favourite white shirt in shades of bright red; and tried to walk on his two legs now.

'I know that the road is just a few metres away from there, and if I somehow made it, then someone will definitely help me...or someone probably might!'

But for that, he would have to walk. And in this state, taking even one step was making him feel like he was carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders, but he couldn't lose courage now.

'My pack needs me...I have to survive for them...have to be strong and have to return for them.'

These were the thoughts that kept him going until he saw the road and tried to make his pace faster. But he had managed to drag himself to the middle of the road, when a strong light flashed in front of his eyes and his ears heard a thud with a piercing pain throughout his body, before everything went black.

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Arene's POV

The moment we left the house, I started getting a feeling of uneasiness, like something was going to be wrong.

'The same feeling I was having that day, the day I lost him!'

I shrugged off the evil and unwanted thoughts emerging in my mind quickly, as I wanted to spend the time with my son, Arin.

And as I thought of his name, my lovely boy started speaking as if he was able to hear my thoughts!

"Mumma, I want ice cleam, and I want a lollipop too! The cold one, which just tastes like ice-cleam only but it has a stick with it, you know?"

Aww! Once again, I melted due to the sweet mistake of the reason of my life.

"Arin, honey, those are popsicles you are talking about, those are not lollipops!"

I corrected him.

"Oh! Solly mumma! I didn't know that."

He spoke, covering his mouth with his little palm, while giggling cutely.

'Sometimes I really think, how easy life would have been, if we never had to grow up, if we could always laugh at our mistakes cutely. Like we are saying to the other person that it's just a mistake, what harm can it cause? And I am only making the mistakes while I am alive, you can be sure I won't make any after my death! But after growing up, we have the burden of responsibilities on our shoulders, that every mistake we make is categorised as a blunder- and sometimes it's a sin, committed by our own hands.'

"Mumma...mum...mum-mum, ale you listening to me?"

Arin's musical voice rang in my ears again.

"Yes honey! What happened?"

I heard my voice encountering the surface of my ear drums again, without my permission.

'I think it is safe to conclude that I am really helpless in front of my baby! Guess I have to live with this only, I thought, looking back into the rear view mirror of my car.'

"Mumma, if I don't ask for ice-cleam for two days, will you be buying me a dad?"

"Arin!"

I raised my voice slightly, to indicate to him that I won't be listening to anything about this in the near future.

But the moment I raised my voice, I saw his beautiful face wilting like a flower- and there we go again, my voice was again out my throat without my consent.

"Okay! Baby, we will talk about this once we reach the ice cream parlour ! Now be a good boy and let mumma focus on the drive, okay?"

"Okay mumma!" He cheered from the back seat.

It hadn't even been two minutes of driving, when I saw a man stumbling across the road, in what appeared to be an injured state, his shirt gleaming red in the glow of the headlights.

And before I could have done anything, he came in front of the car and fell down a few feet away from the car, after colliding with a big boulder which was somehow lying in the middle of the road.

'Out of nowhere!? How!? And why?

Was it for me? But nobody knew my whereabouts these days! Well, apart from one person...and even though I hadn't taken his name in years, I know he can never put me in danger. If anything, he will be the first one to fight the danger meant for me! Then-'

But before I could have come up with a plausible list of conclusions I heard Arin, who was screaming while struggling with his seat belt.

"Mumma, help, dad is injuled...dad is injuled..he needs help. He has got a boo boo...mumma, look!"

"Arin! He is not your dad!"

It was the first sentence that I managed to say. And surprisingly, I heard my son...my own son, responding to me.

"Oh ho! Mumma, you don't know but he is my dad, I played in chulch for dad and the fathel uncle told me that if I played with my honest healt then the God grandpa will be glanting my wish. Hully up mumma, see the God have listened to my playels!"

"Arin-"

"Mumma please..." He pleaded again, this time at the verge of crying. And now, I was left with no choice but to help the man. I stepped out of my car and saw the person lying on the ground. He had a strong muscular build, and I couldn't take him to the car all by myself. But there was no-one else around, either.

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Rain's POV

I felt the shocking pain coursing through my whole body like electric current.

The moment I fell down, I realised that it was not any vehicle I had encountered, but my eyes had deceived me while walking.

'The realisation hit me hard: if my eye-sight is weakening already, then there is really very little time left for me.'

It was at that moment I smelt an intense fragrance- the fragrance of thousands of roses, lilies and sandalwood mixed together. And as the musky smell evoked my nose trills, I smelled a familiar smell.

'The smell of a baby? And that too, In the middle of the road?!'

But my senses were probably giving up, so I distracted myself from the thoughts and started to pray instead.

'Moon Goddess, just spare me one life till I get my revenge, on behalf of the miseries my pack has gone through because of the traitor!'

But if I had been expecting a reply from the deity denying my request, I was pleasantly surprised by a sweet voice, ringing in my ears.

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Author's POV

Arene realised that whatever was to be done, had to be done by the two of them; and tried to make him gain partial consciousness by patting his face, so that he could support himself at least a little. But when she turned him around, a slight furrow appeared on her forehead when she noticed that he was injured really badly.

And the injuries reminded her of someone she had lost...someone she lost because of her mistake!

The moment this thought came into her mind, she involuntarily sprinted a few steps away from the person lying unconscious. But then she saw Arin struggling with the seat belt again, trying to get down in order to help his mother.

'I have to do this for my boy!'

She resolved, when a faint voice echoed in her brain again, which had probably been buried in the grave all these years.

"Are you sure that you can do this? Have you forgotten your failure, and what will you do if something happens to him? Are you willing to risk one life - AGAIN?"

The voice dragged her right in the middle of another dilemma.

'I know the hospital is only a five minute ride from here, but I am not sure about who will be on duty today-'

She was struggling with her thoughts, when she noticed the hands of the stranger twitching as he struggled to put his weight on them and try to get up. His eyes were still closed, but still his hands were trying to find a stable surface from which to lift himself up.

Arene crouched near him and reaching her hand out, she spoke in a soft voice so as to not startle him.

"Can you hear me? Try to gather some strength and stand on your feet, I can't take you to my car all by myself!"

But all Rain could bring himself to focus on, was the smell.

'The smell of thousands of roses, lilies and sandalwood. How can it be possible for a human female to have all these smells emanating from her body...as they are definitely not notes of artificial fragrance, and that I can assure you of, even from my deathbed.'

This was the last thought he remembered passing through his mind, when he felt the piercing pain again.

'Probably, I was on my deathbed already.'

He didn't give any response, but Arene felt the grip around her hands tighten.

She held him and somehow managed to drag him to the car, but her hands froze as she was about to open the door to the back seat.

'I can't let him in the back seat, I can't scare Arin with this much blood...then will I be able to drive if I put him in the front seat!?'

The flashbacks started floating in front of her eyes and to get rid of those flashbacks of taking her boyfriend to the hospital, while screaming her lungs out, that she would not let anything happen to him. He just needed to stay awake, so she just shoved him into the front seat!

'I am not weak anymore. I don't trust anyone now, and no-one trusts me. So I will not have any problem in taking him to the hospital.'

Thinking this, she started the car; keeping Arin's safety in mind, she started driving as fast as she could.

But little did she know what was awaiting her at the hospital.

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